My god its thick. Reminds me of Marshal Zhukov. Very little carbonation produces no head. Initially there was about 1/8th of an inch of caramel colored head, but that faded rather quickly.

I smell loads of roasted grains, chocolate malt to be exact. Hops are surprisingly absent, which is odd for an IRS. The grains smell dry, and theres hints of coffee as well.

The thick body stands out immediately. I almost had to forcefully swallow it The roasted malts (and they had to use a ton of them) coat your mouth. They almost smell charred and burnt. Hints of smoke swirl around with soy sauce, leather, beef jerky, and oak. Odd, but I get a saltiness as well, like the husks of sunflower seeds.

Like I already said, its insanely thick with a full body. Definitely my favorite RIS.

Nose is very dark, rich, chocolaty, malty, and coffee-like. Some sour, fruity, hoppy secondary aromas. Very soft alcohol and citric aromas. Smells like it will have a significant dry, roasted, and woody character. Smells quite nice.

Pours black with very mild dark brown head. Looks good.

Flavor starts out very black coffee-like with dry woody roast and progresses to be floral, leafy, and hoppy in midpalate before settling down to be dry, powdery, and slightly alcoholic in the finish. Soft carbonation pairs with roasted woody bite and alcohol to create a punchy mouthfeel. Lots of chocolate and coffee, some burnt character. Mild sweetness is creamy and milk-like. Smooth creamy body - the soft carbonation creams it up nicely in the mouth. Tastes good. Feels fantastic. Good drinkability.

A regular old imperial stout from Founders? Who would've thunk it... fresh bottle:

Looks nice in the glass - virtually zero clarity even as I hold my glass up to the light. A silky finger or two of dark chocolate head. Tremendous amount of lacing draped over some thick legs. Some creamy beading comes below the cap with a swirl of the glass.

Dark chocolate and bitter coffee grounds, the booze character is pretty sizable but the massive roasted malt qualities manage to match its contribution to the overall aroma profile of the beer. Some soft red fruits come with a sharp snort... is this the base for KBS?

The alcohol sting is a bit sharper on the tongue. Bitter dark chocolate and fudge with smooth caramel, vanilla syrup and fig notes. This seems like a great candidate for the beer cellar to me. I'd love to see booze settle down, even if it costs some chocolatey malt flavors.

12 oz. brown short bottle with twist-off cap. Poured into a tulip nearly jet black (brown) with 1/2" foamy two-tone cappuccino head. The head dies down leaving only specks of lace.

The smell is of sweet roasty coffee, bakers chocolate, wee bit of licorice and a mellow alcohol whiff in the end.

Nice rich roasty malt flavor full of chocolate, espresso, dark fruit, some molasses and more roast. Nice balance with the sweet to bitter roast in the finish. The alcohol is very well masked by the flavor, hard to believe that it's 10%.

Smooth easy sipper that still stands tall for this style...Founder's does some really nice big brews, this is no exception.

And yet another big thanks to the over- generousity that is, the hoppymeal! Thanks again D-

A: Pours a very dark black with a 1.5 finger tannish brown head. Leaves a lot of lacing on the glass. Light only gets through about 1/8" of this liquid

S: Rich malts with hints of chocolate and coffee. Dark fermented fruits and a hint of hoppiness.

T: This is an imperial stout. Dark and very roasty malts compliment a raisiny fig fruit and a coffee aftertaste. A smack of booze too. Can get some piney earthy hops in the background that pleasant. Hints of a smokiness too.

12oz. Superb aero chocolate bar head dominates my large snifter. 30 minutes later, theres still a good 2cm well laced foam. How many imperial stouts can do half as good? Opaque tar appearance. Very well balanced chocolate milk and coffee nose is backed up by a hefty dose of vinous fruits. Rich malt profile. Licorice reminiscent flavors emanate as the beer warm together with a mellow alcohol kiss. Apparent oatmeal character, velvety texture with extremely mellow carbonation enhancing the silky creamy feel. Understated foresty hops blend with the heavy roasted malts in elegance and taking good care of avoiding acidity. Stunning take on the style, possibly the best looking impy, superb texture and solid flavor balance makes it a real winner.

This beer is freaking awesome. No, they don't have a special release for this beer like Dark Lord or Darkness or Hunahpu. But if they did this beer would be completely sought after and considered rare.

Awesome mouthfeel, delicious chocolate flavor assault the palate and nostrils upon first sip. There's nothing that can be done to improve on this beer. On of my top 5 favorite stouts of all time.

Thanks Founders, for making this accessible to people without having us have wait in a line at 8am for a 1 day only release.